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Win or Lose?

  • Dominick Maggazetti, "Hitler Youth." The Rutgers Observer. March 5, 1969.
  • "Rutgers on Maneuvers." The Rutgers Observer. March 5, 1969.
  • Resolution of the Board of Governors of Rutgers University. March 14, 1969.
  • Letter from Mason Gross to the NJ State Legislature. March 17, 1969.
  • Excerpt from Richard P. Mc Cormick, The Black Student Protest Movement at Rutgers.
  • Greg Morton, "Recollection of Conklin Hall Takeover." 2009.
  • John Leonard, "Recollection of Conklin Hall Takeover." 2009.
  • Photograph of white student activists protesting the takeover of Conklin Hall. February, 1969.

Reaction to the rebellion at Rutgers was mixed. Some members of the University community were supportive while others staged demonstrations against the takeover of Conklin Hall to the point of attempting to break down the door of the building with a telephone pole (see photo on top of tool bar on Introductory page). Perhaps not all who demonstrated were motivated by racial prejudice; but rather by a sense of outrage that the educational process was being disrupted once again (this had become commonplace on some campuses due to student protests against the Vietnam War). There is no question, however, that the actions of the BOS forced the white students to confront their racial prejudice.

The actions of the BOS prompted the University's Board of Governors to institute the new "Urban University Program" which was intended to encourage minority enrollment specifically from New Brunswick, Newark and Camden. Moreover, Richard Mc Cormick points out that students were drawn from families who had no real ability to finance their college education and who were unable to meet the normal admission requirements for a seat at Rutgers.

Links to Documents and Photograph

  • Dominick Maggazetti, "Hitler Youth." The Rutgers Observer. March 5, 1969. View now or open the PDF version (0.1MB)
  • "Rutgers on Maneuvers." The Rutgers Observer. March 5, 1969. View now or open the PDF version (0.1MB)
  • Resolution of the Board of Governors of Rutgers University. March 14, 1969. View now or open the PDF version (0.1MB)
  • Letter from Mason Gross to the NJ State Legislature. March 17, 1969. View now or open the PDF version (0.2MB)
  • Excerpt from Richard P. Mc Cormick, The Black Student Protest Movement at Rutgers. View now or open the PDF version (0.1MB)
  • Greg Morton, "Recollection of Conklin Hall Takeover." 2009. Page 21-22. View now or open the PDF version (1.5MB)
  • John Leonard, "Recollection of Conklin Hall Takeover." 2009. Page 23-24. View now or open the PDF version (1.5MB)
  • Photograph of white student activists protesting the takeover of Conklin Hall. February, 1969. View now

Activity

Using the list of demands created in Rebellion! you will conduct a series of interviews with peers, school administrators, community and/or family members to elicit their reactions to a contemporary example of a the perceived inequality, and the proposed actions you will choose to take in reaction to that inequality. Each group will share their findings at a concluding roundtable discussion.